PRESQUE ISLE, Maine – The Presque Isle Wildcats will unleash an explosive offensive attack as the team looks to improve on its 9-10 record and early playoff exit from a year ago.
Presque Isle competes in Class B North and 13th-year coach Carl Flynn said that while the Old Town-Orono cooperative team will provide a tough challenge, his Wildcats should be one of the top contenders in the division.
After finishing the 2016-17 season with only 14 players due to some player suspensions and injuries, the ’Cats have bumped up to 22 players on this year’s roster. Only 20 are allowed to suit up for games, but Flynn said the extra numbers will “make practices more competitive and give us a buffer for potential injuries.”
Presque Isle lost only one senior in Denny Young, an all-star defenseman who racked up 11 goals and a team-high 18 assists last season, but Flynn said the return of some players who didn’t play last year, in addition to a talented freshmen group, should correlate to a strong season.
Plenty of scorers return, led by sophomore Connor DeMerchant, who scored the most goals — 14 — for PI last season. Thomas Patenaude (11 goals and 11 assists) and Riley Kinney (6 goals and 8 assists) are junior assistant captains who should have big years. Junior Jake Stevens missed half of last season due to injury, but still recorded three goals and five assists and is back healthy.
Flynn plans to use Stevens and classmate Bailey York on the first line with senior Colin Daigle. The coach said that line provided good scoring during the preseason and should keep improving. Patenaude and Kinney will be alongside sophomore Colby Bonville on a strong two-way line “that can take care of both ends of the ice,” according to Flynn.
The young line made up of DeMerchant and freshmen Colby Carlisle and Gage LeTourneau “will surprise a lot of teams,” Flynn predicted.
Senior Isaac Madore, sophomore Jacob Foster, freshman Landyn Newlands and sophomore Carter Jackson, who is currently injured, will all be in the mix on the Wildcats’ fourth line.
The graduation of Young means junior captain Torey Levesque, who had three goals and six assists last season, is the top returnee on defense. Flynn said this year’s defensemen will probably not be flashy, but should still be solid on the blue line. Levesque, senior Eric Benson and sophomore Tanner Smith will log a majority of the minutes to begin the campaign, with freshmen Noah Roy and Cameron Levasseur, and senior returnee Devin Ireland all working their way into the rotation.
Andre Daigle, a junior, is back for his second season as the starting goalie, with sophomore Bryce Bonville and freshman Brandon Poitras also looking to get playing time as backups.
“We are fast and have a potentially explosive offense,” Flynn said, “but we will need to work on protecting and developing our goaltending. We will need to limit allowing multiple goals in short periods of time.”
The coach was pleased with the discipline the team displayed during its five exhibition games, as they logged very few penalties.
Waterville and Winslow have formed a co-op team and Messalonskee is usually among the top teams in Class B, but Flynn is not sure what to expect from either squad. He did say that in addition to Old Town-Orono, Hampden Academy and Houlton are both talented divisional opponents.
Darren Carlisle returns as Flynn’s assistant coach and the managers are Brooke Moreau and Laura Garrison.
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- Members of the Presque Isle varsity hockey team are, in front from left, manager Laura Garrison, Bryce Bonville, Isaac Madore, Colby Carlisle, Assistant Coach Darren Carlisle, Andre Daigle, Head Coach Carl Flynn, Noah Roy, Cameron Levasseur, Brandon Poitras and manager Brooke Moreau; back row, Landyn Newlands, Jacob Foster, Bailey York, Jake Stevens, Colby Bonville, Colin Daigle, Thomas Patenaude, Torey Levesque, Riley Kinney, Eric Benson, Connor Demerchant, Carter Jackson, Tanner Smith, Gage Letourneau and Devin Ireland. (Kevin Sjoberg)
